AfDB lends €166m for the Dakar-Saint Louis Highway

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New funding has been approved for the construction of a 200km highway between Dakar and Saint-Louis.

The longstanding project, which will connect Senegal’s capital city to its centre for sugar production, and planned hub for offshore gas exploitation, Saint Louis, will move forward with a €166.36m loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB).

In 2019, a feasibility study by the AfDB estimated the project’s total cost at $870m. For the moment and according to the latest figures, 37% of the project’s estimated costs are covered.

The AfDB will be the second biggest lender to the project after the Islamic Development Bank, which committed $270m last February.

Three other development institutions have confirmed the size of their support: the West African Development Bank, the Saudi Fund for Development, and the OPEC Fund for Development, which committed $41m, $63m and $64.73m respectively.

Other institutions, including The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, and the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, are also expected to announced their support for what will be Senegal’s fourth highway, giving the country 558km of high-speed roads.

In November 2021, Senegal signed $1bn of deals with the American project construction firm Bechtel, which include the construction of the Dakar-Saint Louis Highway, the installation of 375 traffic lights, the construction of the two bridges and the creation of a digital network for public safety.

The Dakar-Saint Louis Highway will be controlled by the Senegalese state-owned road management company Ageroute, which will also assist Bechtel in providing preliminary design and technical assistance during multiple construction phases.

Published on: African Business

Publications Date: 02/12/22

For more: https://african.business/2022/12/trade-investment/afdb-lends-e166m-for-the-dakar-saint-louis-highway/